The present invention relates generally to computerized processing methods and systems, and more particularly, to a system and computer-implemented algorithm or method for resolving air traffic conflicts.
The currently used air traffic control system has reached its capacity. Between overworked controllers and antiquated patchwork equipment, the ability to manage increasingly congested airways has become the subject of valid scrutiny. Compounding that concern, it is estimated that passenger traffic is growing by seven percent per year, and that the commercial airline fleet will double in size by the year 2007. The overhaul process, a worldwide effort, has started. One of the cornerstones of the next generation of air traffic is a free flight concept.
The free flight concept promises to revolutionize air navigation. Currently, air navigation is based on waypoints, which are fixed beacons that define an airway. The aircraft is guided to its destination using a sequence of such airways. Controllers are responsible for monitoring these aircraft and assuring that each maintains a defined amount of separation from its closest neighbor. Controllers determine the probability that this separation will be violated, determine that a conflict is present, and then issue altitude, heading or velocity changes if necessary.
Free flight refers to aircraft flying optimal routes, rather than using the airways. Navigation for free flight aircraft uses the satellite-based Global Navigation Satellite Service rather than radar. The benefits of free flight are many. Among the most frequently cited benefits are reduced flight times and improved fuel efficiency for aircraft. Pilots will be granted the freedom to select routes that maximize performance capabilities of their aircraft and the nature of the flight. The greatest benefit may be that of increased airspace capacity. Ending the current restriction of traffic to airway space, particularly in areas of no radar coverage, will decimate traffic density, allowing the expected growth in air traffic to occur without an increase in congestion.
Despite the slashing of traffic density, aircraft conflict probabilities will never be zero, and therefore the need for conflict resolution services will persist after the introduction of free flight. Although conflict may arise less frequently, the additional freedom awarded to aircraft will make the conflicts that do occur more complex and controllers will no longer be able to rely on the structure of airways in determining resolutions. In addition, it is possible that a large number of aircraft will be affected by the outcome of the resolution leading to a large "ripple effect". One solution is the use of automated conflict resolution systems.
Automated tools that aid in the resolution of conflicts have been developed, and one of the most prominent systems is the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Required for flight within U.S. airspace and used worldwide, the on-board TCAS of each aircraft receives position and velocity transmissions from neighboring aircraft, then uses track vectors to determine collision risk. New versions of TCAS determine and suggest avoidance maneuvers to the pilot of an aircraft projected to lose separation.
While TCAS is an effective system, using technology developed for free flight, such as the Global Navigation Satellite Service and data links, it would be desirable to have a more sophisticated automatic collision avoidance system for use with free flight aircraft. Because the Global Navigation Satellite Service provides for a multiple-sensor navigation system and data link, it allows precise tracking of all aircraft in a region of airspace, therefore it would be desirable to have an on-board, reactive, self-organizational conflict resolution system for use with free flight aircraft.
In general, prior approaches to resolve air traffic conflicts in the context of free flight used expert systems and rule based systems. The disadvantages of these systems are their computational complexity, and the fact that rules used therein are not complete, in that, what to do in case that a situation not covered by the rules is encountered cannot be resolved.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a system and computer-implemented algorithm or method for resolving air traffic conflicts in the context of free flight.